


Electric Love

by lavacherries



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Blood, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Romance, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Love at First Sight, Mermaid Aerith Gainsborough, Mermaids, Mermaids instead of Cetra, Minor Character Death, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Warnings In Chapter Notes, no materia or ff style magic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-06-02 17:37:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19446337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavacherries/pseuds/lavacherries
Summary: Her whole life, Aerith's been told to stay as far away from humans as she can. That getting too close would only lead to heartbreak. So she'd prepared herself. To fight humans off, to find a spot to hide until her family found her, to resist and see through any lie a human may tell her.Though nothing could have ever prepared her for love at first sight.





	Electric Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ifalna never understood why everyone said to stay away from humans. After all, Gast would never do anything to hurt her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lava?? Writing yet another Aerti fic?? It's more likely than you think.

_Humans are nothing but trouble, Ifalna. They destroy everything they touch._

She had heard that from so many people, but as she stared down at the unconscious human under her, Ifalna found herself intrigued. The human had fallen into the ocean, and when she saw him sinking further down, she immediately swam over and pulled him to shore. He was breathing again, but had yet to wake up, and at this point Ifalna wasn’t sure what to do.

“Hello?” She called, brushing some of his wet hair out of his face. “Human?”

The man didn’t move, and Ifalna narrowed her eyes. She poked his cheek, making his head turn to the other side. When that didn’t work either, she put her hands on both sides of his face, shaking his head back and forth.

Still no response. Pouting, Ifalna grabbed his ear, took a deep breath, and screamed loudly right next to his face. The man shot up, his own scream cut off when his forehead collided with hers and they both fell onto their backs, groaning in pain. Ifalna pressed her lips together and rubbed at her forehead, kicking sand up with her tail as she slapped it against the ground over and over. When the man recovered and noticed her tail, he immediately forgot about the pain in his forehead and stared at it.

When Ifalna recovered, she sat up and caught the human staring, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.

“Uhm,” She shifted around, “Are you okay? I saw you drowning earlier, so I pulled you to shore.”

The man looked from her tail to her face. “Oh, yes, thank you.”

“How’d you even fall in?”

“I was out on a boat with a few of my colleagues, and one of them thought it necessary to shove me over the edge of it as a joke.”

“Wouldn’t your orange bag stop you from sinking? I thought humans always wore them when they went out to sea.”

“Orange- oh, you mean life jackets. We didn’t bring any.”

“Why not?”

“My colleagues insisted we’d be fine without them.”

“That doesn’t sound very safe. Humans can’t breathe underwater.”

“Right, of course. But you can, correct?” The human asked eagerly.

Ifalna suddenly felt self conscious. The man was staring at her tail again, so she scooted back, a bit closer to the water. “Yes, I can.”

“Because you’re a mermaid?”

“Yes?” The way the man had asked made her uncomfortable, and she turned to get back in the water. “If you’re okay, I should really get going.”

“Wait, please! Could I just ask you a few questions?”

Ifalna paused, staring at the water for a long moment before looking over her shoulder. “About what?”

“About mermaids, what living underwater is like, about your home, anything you can tell me about your kind. I don’t think anyone’s ever seen a mermaid before.” He held a hand out. “And in exchange, you can ask me anything you want about humans.”

She stared at the man’s hand, unsure. Until just now, she had wanted to know everything she could about humans. Sure, she could always walk around on land disguised as one, but you can only learn so much by watching people. And asking humans things that they all knew would probably seem odd. Why should she turn down a chance to find out more straight from one of them?

Ifalna took his hand, and when the human smiled at her, all of her doubts melted away.

“My name is Gast.”

“I’m Ifalna.”

Gast brought her hand to his face, kissing it. “A pleasure.”

_________

It had been five years since Ifalna had met Gast. In that time, the two had shared information with each other about mermaids and humans, and with every day that passed, Ifalna had grown to like him more and more. He was funny, passionate, and cared about her more than anything. When she had asked him why he was so interested in mermaids, he took her hand in his and told her it was so he could know more about her.

The next day they went on their first date. Ifalna changed her tail into legs for the first time in awhile, and the two went to Gast’s house in the city. They sat on the couch and watched movies, and while Ifalna commented on every little detail, Gast smiled and listened, rubbing her legs and massaging her feet. 

After that, Ifalna began to spend more and more time with Gast until she saw him every day. Gast moved out of the city and bought a house on the beach, with a room just for Ifalna. Her friends told her she was making a mistake, but she moved in with Gast anyway. They’d never even met a human before, so how could they know anything about them?

Gast, upon hearing about what Ifalna’s friends had said, simply laughed, telling her they were probably jealous of how much time they spent together. Ifalna agreed.

Every day Ifalna spent with Gast brought her joy, so much that she forgot all about her old friends. Their mornings were spent making breakfast together before going for a swim. Ifalna would make a show out of it while Gast watched closely, smiling to himself. After swimming, they’d sit on the beach, watching the clouds. Though Gast watched Ifalna more than he ever did the clouds.

On days that they couldn’t watch the clouds, the two would stay inside, watching movies about mermaids so Ifalna could laugh at how inaccurate they were. Gast would ask her questions, about how the movies were wrong, what things were really like, and what the movies did get right. Ifalna would talk for hours and hours about her old home, and Gast would never take his eyes off of her.

The two did everything together, never leaving each other’s side. They made meals together, went into town together, and Ifalna even followed Gast to work. He told her a bit about ShinRa, the company he worked for, but he looked annoyed every time. She assumed it was because his coworkers were irritating.

One day, however, Gast didn’t bring Ifalna to work with him. Said that he had an important meeting to attend and she’d have to just stay home.

Ifalna was disappointed, and decided to just lay in her bed all day. She had been feeling exhausted recently anyway, so maybe it was a good thing that she was staying home.

__________

Gast had been in the middle of handing a report to the science department head when his phone started ringing. When he saw the number on the screen, he sighed and picked up.

“Gast?” Ifalna gasped.

The professor took a deep breath, smiling before he responded. “Ifalna? Is something the matter? I’m in the middle of something at work, love.”

“I…. I can’t stop throwing up.”

“It’s just morning sickness, dear. I explained that before, remember?”

“I know, I know, but it’s worse than usual.”

“Do you need me to come home?”

“Yes, if it’s not too much trouble.”

“I’ll be there in an hour.”

Ifalna sighed in relief. “Thank you. I love you, Gast.”

“Love you too.”

Gast hung up and shoved his phone back into his pocket before looking back to his superior. “Sorry about that. Ifalna’s morning sickness has been getting worse.”

The science department head shook his head, flipping through his report. “Don’t worry about it. Nothing wrong with checking on your experiment.”

“I suppose.”

“Anyway, I’ll have to look over this more closely later, but if you keep handing in reports like this, you might be taking my job right out from under me!” The man chuckled.

Gast smiled. “I’d never dream of replacing you, sir.”

The man nodded, “You know, we’d probably be able to learn even more about this mermaid of yours if you brought her in for testing.”

“I hate to disagree, but I’d rather not. I’m making good progress just studying her alone.”

“Your choice, I guess. But what happens if she finds out the real reason you married her?”

“Believe me, she won’t.”

________

Ifalna smiled down at Aerith, stroking the side of her baby’s face as she slept. She could hear the wind chimes outside as the breeze kicked up, as well as the waves crashing against the shore. Even though the weather had been getting worse lately, Aerith didn’t seem to care, no matter how loud the thunder got or how hard the rain poured down. She just snuggled up to her mother without a care in the world.

“I can’t wait to take you swimming for the first time, Aerith. I know you’re going to love it.” Ifalna whispered, smiling wider when Aerith grabbed her finger.

A knock came from the other side of her bedroom door. “Ifalna, are you ready to go?” 

Raising an eyebrow, Ifalna sat up in bed. “Where?”

“To my lab, remember? I told you last night that I was promoted.”

Ifalna squinted at the door, as if it would help her remember what had happened last night. The only thing she could recall was Gast coming home and sitting on the couch with Aerith after dinner. 

“I don’t remember you saying that, honey.” She eventually called.

“Well, I’ve been promoted. Get ready so I can show you the lab.”

“There’s a storm out there, I really don’t think we should take Aerith outside.”

Gast opened the door to give her a smile. “Please just come with me, Ifalna.”

Ifalna bit her lip, an uneasy feeling settling in her stomach as she watched her husband. He’d been spending less and less time with her ever since Aerith was born. Some days he would take her to his room and insist Ifalna take a nap while he spent time with their daughter. Normally, she wouldn’t have a problem with it, but whenever she would ask him to spend time with her, he’d brush her off or say he had work to do.

He had grown distant, and Ifalna wasn’t sure she could really trust him anymore.

“I’d rather stay here with Aerith, Gast.” She sighed, turning back to her baby. “Plus, I’ve been really tired lately. Taking care of a baby isn’t exactly easy.”

Gast remained silent, instead walking over to the bed.

“Why don’t you take the day off today? We can stay home and watch movies like we used to.” She shifted around to face him. “We haven’t spent much time….. together….”

When she noticed Gast was staring down at her, his gaze cold and uncaring, she trailed off. Her skin suddenly felt hot and cold, her heart stopped, and chills ran up her spine. She was suddenly back on the beach all those years ago, watching Gast as he held his hand out.

_Why are you trusting a human, Ifalna?_

Slowly, Ifalna backed away.

_He’s just using you!_

She carefully gathered Aerith into her arms, reaching the edge of the bed as Gast watched.

_This Gast guy? He’s clearly just staying with you so he can study you or something._

Ifalna stepped off the bed, holding Aerith close to her chest.

_You need to get away from him._

Before Gast could even make a move, Ifalna sprinted out of the bedroom, making a mad dash through the kitchen towards the front door. She scrambled to turn all the locks to get it open, but the minute she touched it, Gast grabbed her from behind and started to drag her backwards. Ifalna screamed, kicking as hard as she could while Aerith cried loudly. 

“LET! ME! GO!” Ifalna demanded, thrashing around in her husband’s arms.

“Stop struggling!”

Growling, Ifalna slammed the back of her head into Gast’s face, making him release her as he stumbled back. She immediately unlocked the door and ran outside toward the water. It didn’t take very long for Gast to give chase, and the louder his footsteps grew, the harder Ifalna’s heart pounded.

She was only a few feet away from the water when Gast grabbed her again, yanking her backwards so they both fell to the ground with her on top of him. Aerith’s cries turned into screams, and before she could attempt to free herself, something was smashed against the side of her head, and everything went black.

________

She woke up with a splitting headache. Bright lights blinded her the moment she opened her eyes, making the sharp pain in her skull worse. Slowly adjusting to the light, Ifalna squinted and looked around. She was on the floor of a large round tank, with barely enough room to swim around. Touching the side of her head, Ifalna winced and looked through the glass, only to immediately recoil, swimming away when she saw Gast standing on the other side.

Gast didn’t give her one of his warm smiles, or wave, or even attempt to be comforting. Now that Ifalna thought about it, every kind thing Gast had ever said or done had probably been an act. God, why didn’t she listen to her friends?

“Can you hear me, Ifalna?” Gast asked, his voice muffled.

Ifalna glared at him, before turning away to scan the room in search of Aerith.

“Don’t worry, Aerith is in the next room over. A few of my assistants are running a few tests on her.”

Rage immediately shot through Ifalna’s body, making her dart forward and slam her fist against the glass, right in front of Gast’s face. “GIVE HER BACK!” She screamed as the glass cracked.

Gast simply hummed, before writing something down on his clipboard. He looked over some previous notes as Ifalna continued to pound on the glass, to the point water began to shoot out through the cracks in small streams.

“I wouldn’t break the glass if I were you. You’ll just end up hurting yourself. And if you’re injured, who’s going to take care of Aerith?” Gast asked, finally looking up at her with a smile.

Ifalna froze in the middle of raising her arm again.

“Smart girl. Now, if you want to stay with Aerith, you’re going to have to make a deal with me.” Gast pushed a button on a small remote, and the water in the tank began to drain. “You’re going to answer any and all questions I have. You’re going to allow me and my colleagues to run whatever tests we want on you and Aerith. You’re going to stay here in this building, and you’ll never leave unless I give permission and go with you. I have full custody over you and Aerith, and anything I say goes. In return, you’ll get to stay with Aerith, and no harm will come to either of you.”

By the time Gast finished speaking, the water had finished draining, and Ifalna was sitting on the cold metal floor. She glared daggers at the man in front of her, but as much as she wanted to find Aerith and run away, they were trapped. Doing what she was told was the only option right now.

Ifalna looked down at her hands. “Bring Aerith to me first. Then I’ll think about it.”

Gast nodded, leaving the room and coming back a few minutes later, Aerith in his arms. He pushed another button on his remote, the tank’s door sliding open. After stepping inside, he handed the baby to Ifalna. Aerith was desperate to get back into her mother’s arms, slapping Gast’s hand with her tail once she was safe in Ifalna’s embrace.

Gast scowled at the girl, rubbing his hand and standing up straight. “You’ll have to stay in this tank until we can transfer you to a better one. We’ll start research tomorrow.”

Before Ifalna could even reply, the professor walked out of the tank and the door slid shut again. Aerith hugged Ifalna’s hand, rubbing her face against it while her mother stared after Gast, filled with dread.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Gast is somehow even more of a bastard!!
> 
> Just a warning, the first three chapters are mainly about Ifalna and Aerith. Aerti will probably get started up after they meet in chapter four, and then really get going in chapter five. Hope you guys enjoy!!
> 
> If you have any questions about the AU (about mermaids, how stuff works, etc.) feel free to shoot me an ask on my ff blog on tumblr @imacetra.


End file.
